Ostrovsky Square is a square located in the Central District of Saint Petersburg, in the historic center of the city. It is situated at the intersection of Nevsky Prospekt, Zodchego Rossi Street, Malaya Sadovaya Street, and Krylova Lane.
The square forms an architectural ensemble designed by architects K. I. Rossi and A. A. Modyui in the 19th century. The square is home to monuments of federal cultural and historical significance: the Alexandrinsky Theater, the National Library of Russia, the Anichkov Palace, the Monument to Catherine II, the buildings of the Ministry of Public Education and the Directorate of Imperial Theaters on Zodchego Rossi Street, and the building of the Saint Petersburg City Credit Society. Although K. I. Rossi was unable to fully realize his vision,Some plots were developed with buildings such as the house of architect N. P. Vasin, the City Credit Society building, and others, which do not align with the ensemble's architectural character. the Ostrovsky Square ensemble remains one of the highest achievements of Russian urban planning. As part of the historic development of Saint Petersburg's center, the square is included in the World Heritage List.
Naming On the 1829 plan, the square was designated as Anichkov Square, named after the Anichkov Palace, which owned the territory at the time. On August 25, 1832 (Old Style: August 13, 1832), it was renamed Alexandrinsky Square after the Alexandrinsky Theater located there. From 1851 to 1858, alongside the official name, the term Theater Square was also used, and the 1899 plan refers to it as Alexandrinsky Theater Square. The 1915 Directory of Joint-Stock and Partnership Companies mistakenly lists it as Alexandrovskaya Square.
On October 6, 1923, the square was renamed Writer Ostrovsky Square in honor of the Russian playwright A. N. Ostrovsky. Although he did not live in Saint Petersburg, he was closely associated with the city's cultural life. From 1859, nearly all of Ostrovsky's plays were published in Sovremennik and Otechestvennye Zapiski, and many were staged at the Alexandrinsky Theater. This name lasted until 1929. In 1925, the name Ostrovsky Square emerged.
Locals have given informal nicknames to objects on the square, despite their official names: the library is called Publichka, the theater is Alexandrinka, the Apollo quadriga on the theater is The Coachman from Alexandrinka, and the garden on the square is Katkin Sadik (Catherine's Garden). The monument to Catherine has many nicknames, the most polite being Katka and Pechatka (Seal).
History
Prehistory
In the 18th century, the most significant and large-scale architectural structures were concentrated along the Neva River and its nearby area. The future Ostrovsky Square was on the city's outskirts. The dominant structures between Nevsky Prospekt, Sadovaya Street, and the Fontanka River embankment were the Anichkov and Vorontsov Palaces. The former belonged to Count A. G. Razumovsky. The area of the current square was occupied by the palace garden, extending to Bolshaya Sadovaya Street and Chernyshev Bridge. Along Nevsky Prospekt, there was a pond, and opposite Malaya Sadovaya Street, a fountain. Where the Russian National Library now stands, there were a nursery and greenhouses. Along Sadovaya Street were the houses of gardeners and palace servants, and opposite Gostiny Dvor stood the house of Count Razumovsky's manager. Where the Alexandrinsky Theater now stands, there was a wooden Italian Pavilion with a picture gallery.Empress Catherine II gifted the Anichkov Palace to her favorite, G. A. Potemkin. The palace housed . The Italian Pavilion was typically used for celebrations and exhibitions of rare "works of art" In 1795, the pavilion housed the library of the Zaluski brothers, brought from Poland, which later became the foundation of the Imperial Public Library.
Here is how Johann Gottlieb Georgi described the future site of the square in 1794:§ 167. The Anichkov Palace on Nevsky Prospekt and Fontanka. EMPRESS ELIZABETH PETROVNA built it in 1744 according to Count Rastrelli's plan for Count Razumovsky, after which it was purchased by the treasury for Prince Potemkin of Taurida, who sold it to the wealthy merchant Nikita Shemyakin. This house is large, situated in an open space, three stories high, with a simple facade. There is a hanging garden on arches along the street, as wide as the palace. The palace garden, in the shape of an irregular quadrangle, extends to Sadovaya Street… It currently stands unused. The palace is neglected and loses its appearance year by year.In 1799, the Western part of the Anichkov Palace garden was transferred to the Theater Directorate. Saint Petersburg Governor-General P. V. Golenishchev-Kutuzov signed a contract with impresario Anton Casassi to rebuild the Italian Pavilion into a theater. By 1801, architect V. Brenna completed the work. It became known as the Casassi Theater, later the Small Theater, sometimes called the French Theater. Between 1796 and 1801, architect E. T. Sokolov built the Public Library building at the corner of Nevsky Prospekt and Sadovaya Street. As a result, the Anichkov Palace's garden was significantly reduced, limited on the west by the line of the current garden. In the early 19th century, small wooden and stone houses belonging to artists and private owners appeared along this boundary.
Formation and development By the 1810s, the Small Theater building had become cramped for audiences, and its appearance did not match the grandeur of the city's main thoroughfare. In 1816, architects A. K. Modyui and K. I. Rossi, employed by the Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works, were invited to redesign the theater building and completely re-plan the surrounding area from the Anichkov Palace to Sadovaya Street.
In spring 1816, Rossi received a proposal from A. Betancourt to reconstruct the Anichkov Palace estate. As part of the estate reconstruction project, Rossi developed about twenty variants of a master plan for transforming the area around the future theater. However, Alexander I approved Modyui's project.
Modyui re-planned the entire estate, significantly reducing the size of the palace garden. He considered the estate's transformation in connection with the development of the city's main artery, Nevsky Prospekt. According to his project, Theater Square, Lomonosov Square at Chernyshev Bridge, and a network of new streets linked to other central thoroughfares were developed as a single architectural ensemble. Further design was handed over to K. Rossi. The Alexandrinsky Theater became the centerpiece. The project's implementation created a major public and cultural center, including the theater, public library, ministry buildings, and a system of streets.
Construction began in 1816–1818 with the erection of two symmetrical pavilions featuring figures of Russian knights, created by S. S. Pimenov, and a fence separating the remaining part of the Anichkov Palace garden. This defined the eastern boundary of the new square and emphasized the palace's role in the ensemble. In 1828–1832, Rossi skillfully added a massive (90-meter-long) new wing to the Public Library building, previously constructed by E. T. Sokolov along Sadovaya Street, creating a harmonious whole. At the same time, the Alexandrinsky Theater was built deeper into the square. The theater was one of the best of its time in terms of layout, stage equipment, and exterior and interior finishing. At the theater's opening on September 12, 1832 (Old Style: August 31, 1832), a patriotic play by M. V. Kryukovsky, Pozharsky, or Liberated Moscow, was performed. Behind the theater, aligned on the same axis, a street was built in 1828–1834 according to Rossi's design, framed by two grand buildings. With its harmonious proportions (220 meters long, with buildings 22 meters wide and tall), majestic colonnades, and beautiful perspectives, this street is unparalleled. Due to disagreements with the client (refusal to make the Anichkov Palace the ensemble's centerpiece), Rossi was removed from the project. The ensemble remained incomplete. The great architect died in obscurity in 1849.
In the summer of 1832, a garden was laid out in front of the theater by gardener Yakov Fedorov. It featured a central lawn surrounded by a winding path with four exits to the square. The garden was enclosed by a cast-iron fence with four double gates and 30 lanterns, with a sidewalk around it.
In the 1830s to early 1840s, the eastern side of the square, south of the Anichkov Palace garden, was occupied by the courtyard of merchant Markel Ezelev. Soon, a wooden circus was built there according to architect Adrian Rosen's design, opening on October 10, 1846. In the 1850s, it was rebuilt by architect V. P. Lvov. The circus operated until 1867, and three years later, one of Russia's first operetta theaters, Theater Buff, opened on the site. In the 1860s, the German Zest Tavern stood on the square, popular among artists.
In the early 1860s, the idea emerged to erect a monument to Catherine II for the centenary of her accession. A 1/16-scale model of the monument is located in the Grotto pavilion in Tsarskoye Selo. was unveiled in the center of the square's garden in 1873. Its creator was artist M. O. Mikeshin. Granite for the pedestal was transported by water from the Karelian Isthmus to the Neva embankment at the Summer Garden, then delivered to the site via a special portable railway made at the San-Galli factory. The monument's construction cost 316,000 rubles, and with commemorative medals, the opening ceremony, and garden redevelopment, the total was 456,896 rubles. The monument took over ten years to build, from 1862 to 1873. Its consecration took place on December 6, 1873 (Old Style: November 24, 1873).
Simultaneously, architect D. I. Grimm redesigned the garden around the monument. The garden's orientation was changed to run parallel to the Public Library building rather than Nevsky Prospekt. As a result, the garden's area increased from 0.65 hectares to 0.95 hectares, soon becoming known as the Catherine Garden.
By imperial decree of December 1, 1873 (Old Style: November 19, 1873), the redeveloped garden was transferred to the First District of Transportation Routes. The Catherine Garden was maintained by three workers and several guards, three of whom took turns guarding the monument. In 1873, 4,000 rubles were allocated for the garden's maintenance, but from 1875, this was reduced to 1,500 rubles. Due to insufficient funding, over 90 oaks died by 1875, and the fence was in poor condition. The Imperial Russian Horticultural Society was tasked with restoring the garden for 6,831 rubles, redesigning its layout, replacing plants, and maintaining the monument and garden for 1,500 rubles annually. Work began in 1878. According to the project by the society's vice-president, E. L. Regel, and his assistant E. I. Endel, the garden was re-planned. Straight paths were replaced with three interconnected circular platforms along the main axis and two pairs of curved side paths. Over the next two years, planting and installation of a new fence with decorative monograms of Catherine II were carried out.
In 1876–1878, architect V. A. Schröter built a house for the Saint Petersburg City Credit Society. From autumn 1880, its assembly hall was used for concerts, literary readings, and charity events. Performances included the quartet of the Russian Musical Society with violinist and conductor L. S. Auer, the first concert of a balalaika enthusiasts' group led by V. V. Andreyev. On the Lyceum anniversary on October 31, 1880 (Old Style: October 19, 1880), the Literary Fund's readings featured Y. K. Grot, P. I. Weiner, D. V. Grigorovich, and F. M. Dostoevsky. In 1895, I. A. Bunin gave his first literary performance. In 1879, a house in the Russian style was built nearby by architects N. P. Vasin and N. N. Nikonov.